This post was partly inspired by the release of romcom Last Christmas (which features the many musical talents of George Michael), and the fact that I’ve been listening to a lot of music recently. Enjoy!
Hey Jude, don’t make it bad
Take a sad song and make it better
Remember to let her into your heart
Then you can start to make it better
Taken from the much-loved single Hey Jude by The Beatles in 1968, which unusually wasn’t on any studio album. It was their biggest hit in the US, spending nine weeks at number one, and topped the charts worldwide. It’s long been one of my favourite Beatles songs, along with Tomorrow Never Knows, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, In My Life and The End.
I haven’t been part of a Blogathon for quite a while now. In the past I’ve really enjoyed being part of features like the Back to School, The Top 10 Most Iconic Female Character and Song and Screen series ones, but I have been too busy for any ones recently. However, when Nuwan Sen suggested some flexibility for his October Birthdayz Blogathon I just had to contribute. And I knew just who to choose when selecting someone with a film background and an October birthday. Born on 9 October 1940, Lennon was in films such as Help, A Hard Day’s Night and Yellow Submarine, as well as numerous documentaries released posthumously such as The US v John Lennon. Here are eight of the most memorable quotes from a man who spread peace his whole life.
Picture yourself in a boat on a river
With tangerine trees and marmalade skies
Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly
A girl with kaleidoscope eyes
Taken from the song Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds by musical pioneers The Beatles, from their highly acclaimed eighth studio album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967). You can find three other memorable examples of their gift for songwriting with In My Life, The End and Tomorrow Never Knows.
I’ll be writing my thoughts on Spectre soon, but I wanted to discuss in extra detail the aspect of Bond theme tunes. Especially as there was such a cool response to Sam Smith’s much anticipated song Writing’s on the Wall. I sided with the majority and was hugely disappointed. Smith is clearly an undoubted award-winning talent, and he is evdently aware of previous Bond songs, but for me there wasn’t a strong enough melody and I didn’t like his style of singing for the song. Unlike the hugely popular Skyfall and every other Bond theme, it did actually top the UK charts so clearly has its fanbase.
Where would you rank it in terms of Bond themes? Are there any you particularly like or dislike? I’ve focused on the songs themselves, but if you are curious about the graphics side within the credits, I recommend this piece by Vinnie H.
It’s not too far from the weekend, so I thought why not do a post on songs that are always guaranteed to put a smile on my face. Is there a piece of music that can lighten you mood? A tune that’s impossible to stand still to even when you couldn’t feel less like dancing?
All these places have their moments
With lovers and friends I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life I’ve loved them all
Taken from the song In My Life from The Beatles’ sixth studio album Rubber Soul.
And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.
Taken from ‘The End’, from The Beatles’ penultimate studio album Abbey Road (1969).
Turn off your mind, relax and float down stream
Taken from the song ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’ by The Beatles (1966)
Alex Raphael 